Is That You?
by Scout-Is-Delicious
Summary: Gwen attends a new high school after TDI, which she's really not thrilled about doing. But who does she meet there that she can't help feeling awkward about? Gwenx?, odd pairing, I warn now! Chapter 5 is up!
1. Who is He?

_Okay, yeah, another new story. But I couldn't get this idea off my mind. Since this is my first TDI fic, please be nice, I beg of you. This story is centered mostly around Gwen and some OC's I may add in, including the girl she speaks to in this first chapter. As it states below, this is set one year after Total Drama Island, so some characters will be a little bit different, maybe not entirely. Other than that, I think this will be somewhat good, I don't know yet. The rating may go up in later chapters, just to warn. Well, please enjoy, and please review. Again I say, this is an odd pairing, but it's a while later, so I don't know what would happen after a year. With no further blah-ing, here's my story._

**_Disclaimer: I do not own TDI or any of its characters._**

**Gwen's POV, One Year After TDI**

Great… It's time for my senior year in high school. A _new_ high school. After all the… well, _drama_, on TDI, the last thing I need is _more_ drama.

Bad news is that Trent lives in some other state now, but since we still keep in touch, he's still on my mind every waking moment of every day.

No, I didn't win the hundred grand… It went to Duncan, who decided to take Courtney on some romantic cruise in the Bahamas for a week. I can about imagine what they're doing right now… He's probably kissing all over her and she's begging him to stop but loving it anyway. Knowing him, he'll find pleasure in her pleading.

As for the others, I haven't seen or heard much of anyone anywhere since my elimination. Sure, I've seen Katie and Sadie at the mall several times—okay, I've seen them every time I go there—and sure, I've asked them how they've been. It turns out Sadie's lost a lot of weight since the show. She's not quite as thin as her best friend, but there's a considerable difference there.

I know Justin goes to my new school, and he's got every girl (and female teachers, too) drooling over him. Me, I just scoff at the guy. Never in a million years would _I_ fall for that shallow nutjob. In fact, I highly doubt that I'd ever like any empty-headed men that are all looks and no brains. Yeah, since Trent's hot _and_ smart. I couldn't ask for anything more. He's in some other state, though, and I only get a chance to talk to him every so often… On the bright side, though, Trent did say he was going to visit me sometime soon. He didn't say when, just that he would.

I suppose I've changed somewhat… My hair's a little longer, with streaks of red now instead of teal in the black. I'm taller, a bit more statuesque (not that I wasn't before, but you know, you never stop changing) but other than that, I'm still the same Gwen that I was on TDI. I suppose I'll get on with the story now…

Well, here I am—history class, first period.

Just as I pulled out my notebook to start sketching, I noticed a shadow fall over my table. "Hi, there," some girl stood beside me.

I glanced at her, "Hi." I couldn't control the snap in my tone.

"My name's Missy, who are you?"

She was pretty, I'll give her that—bright blue eyes, honey blond, a sweet face, thin stature—but her perkiness was a little… what's the word…? Queer…? Close enough… My first guess was she had to be a cheerleader.

"Gwen," I replied flatly.

"Are you new here?"

"Kind of,"

"Weren't you on a reality show?"

"Yeah, which is kinda why I'm new here,"

"Oh." She sat down on the chair next to me. It makes her one person out of twenty that will actually sit here. "Was it fun?"

"No, I only went on to prove how stupid reality TV is," I told her. "And I--" I stopped abruptly. There was someone strange in the doorway.

And he was good-looking, seriously. His hair was cocoa-brown, his bangs wispy over his very stunning, very lovely, very blue eyes. He had a smooth slightly tanned face, a few freckles dotting the bridge of his nose. His body was thin, almost lanky, but in his snug collar-T, I could clearly see a line down the center of his chest. One of his ears was pierced, the left one, with a gold stud. It took me almost thirty seconds to realize I was staring. And even then, I couldn't stop.

"Hey, Gwen?" You okay? You look a little flush," said Missy, waving a hand in the line of my sight.

"Huh?" Blinking, I turned to her. "I'm fine."

"Whatcha looking at?" she glanced in the direction of my again-lingering gaze. When she saw what—who—I was eyeing, she broke into a grin. "Ooh, you're checking out the new guy!"

"New guy?" I repeated incredulously.

"Yeah, he came here a few weeks before you did," she said, not averting her gaze from him as he moved fluidly across the room to speak to the teacher. "Isn't he hot?"

"He's definitely descent, I'll give him that," I said in awe. But… there was something odd about him… something strange…

Something… familiar…

I looked him down and up, "I get the feeling I've seen him before," I told Missy.

"Lucky!" she squealed.

"I'd know if I knew his name… who _is_ he?"

"His name's Cody,"

--

_:O yeah! But is it who she's thinking of? Find out soon!! --Mandy_


	2. The Beginning of a Long, Grueling Day

_I'm not going to waste your time with a pre-story speech. To keep it sweet and simple, here's chapter 2, hope you enjoy! Big thank you to everyone who reviews/faves/alerts :)!! -- Mandy_

_**Gwen's POV, Chapter Two**_

My breath caught in my throat.

_Cody? Geek-boy? Oh my God!_ Wait—there are probably a million Cody's, let alone the one in this class. Maybe I'm just too used to nerdy wannabe Cody to know any others?

But… come to think of it, he _did_ have the same hair color, the same bluish-green eyes…

Then, while he was talking with Mrs. Kinder, the teacher, he smiled.

…the same empty space in his teeth, which were a little whiter.

"Oh, God," I started to panic, pressing my fingers to my temples. "Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh God…"

"What's up?" Missy asked with a curious tilt of her head.

"I think I know him…" I groaned.

"Are you serious!?" she squeaked happily. "How!?"

"I think he was on Total Drama Island with me…" I slammed my head down on the table, sickened by any thoughts I may have had about him being attractive. I mean, come _on_! It's Cody! Who in their right mind would ever like such a geek?

Although… he didn't look like much of a geek anymore… that's all I can say about that. I wondered what could've possibly happened to make him a little more… appealing… to say the least. _Wait, no! Eww! Not him! Not Cody. Ever._

Missy gasped, "Oh yeah! That's right! That one kid who would always hit on you! That's awesome!"

"No, it's not," I growled. "It sucks…"

"How? Look at him, he's freaking hot!"

"He wasn't when I knew him," I told her, glancing at Cody from the corner of my eye.

"He is now! Dude, you can't tell me he's not cute,"

"I already did…" I rested my forehead on my fists held up on my propped elbows. I hissed under my breath, "Unfortunately… But honestly, he's Cody, it's gross…"

As though he'd heard, he glanced over at me. His blue eyes widened, his lips parted in disbelief. Internally I whacked myself. He recognized me…

_Please don't come over…_ I begged in my mind. _Please don't let him come over here…!_

"Dude, he's coming over here!" Missy whispered excitedly in my ear.

"Wonderful…"

I kept my head in my arms, not daring to look at him. The last thing I wanted to do was make small talk with someone I hated. From my left I heard Missy hyperventilating, "H-h-hi, Cody… What's up?"

"Not much, uh… what was your name again? Sorry, I'm new."

Invisibly my eyes popped open. _What happened to his voice? It's different. It's… huskier…_

The blond girl put a hand on the table. Probably for balance… "The name's… um, Missy. Hehehe…"

"Sweet. Hi, Missy. You mind if I talked to the girl behind you?"

"Oh, no, not at all," she said. "Go ahead, I'll move."

I heard her step away, and he stepped forward.

"Hey there," There's that husky voice again…

Moving my head, I glanced at him from my peripheral vision. He had a small smile on his face, gentleness in his blue eyes, which I noticed were tinged green, making them more of an aqua. "Um… hi." I replied, trying—hard—to sound uninterested.

"Are you feeling okay? Why is your head down?" he asked, concern crossing his features.

"I'm okay," I told him. "Just a little tired, that's all."

"Oh," He gave me another kind smile, "My name's Cody. I get the feeling I've seen you somewhere before?"

"Um, I don't think so…"

"What's your name?"

_My name's Julie, and you've never seen me in your life._ "Um… Gwen."

_Crap…_

"Hey, I do know you!" he said exuberantly. "You and I were on Total Drama Island together!"

I was so hoping he wouldn't remember! Damn it, he's good! "Yeah," I said with a poor excuse for happiness. "I remember that…"

Cody used a finger to pull aside the wisps from his forehead. I was surprised at how that made me ogle at him. "Awesome. Who won?"

"Duncan," I answered, unintentionally raising my head so he could see my whole face. "He and Courtney are off on some romantic cruise."

"No kidding?" He scowled. "That's really weird. But hey, you know what? They look good together."

"Yeah, I think so too." Did I seriously just _agree_ with him? What was wrong with me? God knows…

"So how have you been since the show?"

"I've been all right, I guess," I said, strumming my fingers on the tabletop. "You know, just drawing and stuff most of the time."

"Oh yeah? That's cool."

"Uh huh…" Usually a normal conversation between me and Cody wouldn't carry any farther than 'hi' without either him hitting on me and me smacking the crap out of him or any rearrangement of the two. Did I _not_ say I didn't wanna make small talk with this kid? Something was severely wrong with him. Or was there something wrong with me? "And what have you been doing?"

"Not much," he said. "I started skateboarding, snowboarding, stuff like that; I started playing the drums, I'm kinda all over the place, so to speak."

"Interesting." I was actually astonished by how much he'd accomplished in a year's time since I'd first met him. Somehow, this second meeting wasn't creeping me out. It was like he'd become… mature… over the distance.

Mrs. Kinder walked to the front of the room with a grin, "Good morning, students. Welcome to another wonderful year at Ice Box High School! And the reason I say this is because we have a new student this year!"

I sulked in my chair. So this is how she was going to introduce me? Annunciation? Hopefully I didn't have to deal with this every class…

Cody's head turned in the teacher's direction for a split second before he pulled out the chair next to me and sat down, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest.

_So that's how you're gonna play, huh? The cool-guy routine? Puh-leeze, like I've never seen THAT out of you before…_

Mrs. Kinder directed a too-warm smile at me, "Everyone, meet Gwen. She'll be joining us this year!"

I looked around reluctantly. Ugh… they were all giving me that 'OMG look, it's the new kid' stare!

"Hi…" I managed to say without cussing.

On my left, Missy was absolutely beaming at Cody, who was watching the teacher doodle something on the board. Behind me, some boy was whispering to his friend, "Dude, new girl equals _hot_."

I saw Cody glance at him when he said this.

Next some other chick passed my table and dropped a note in front of me. I unfolded it, and it read,

"**U get 2 close 2 Cody & Ill KILL u!!"**

Crumpling it into a ball, I looked up to meet the icy eyes of the girl who'd written it. She was blond—not natural sweet blonde like Missy—but unnatural bleach-blond pulled back in a high ponytail, and her irises were such a light blue you almost couldn't tell where they met the whites. Her body was anorexic-looking (I'm guessing, you can never be sure), her face thin, with an ugly scowl stamped on it. She whipped her head around, flipping her frizzy ponytail in my direction, and strutted back to her table.

I sighed heavily, stuffing the note into the pocket of my miniskirt. _This is going to be a loooooong day…_


	3. Call Me Dreamer

_Chapter 3, please enjoy!!_

_**Gwen's POV**_

History was so boring I actually fell asleep. This was nowhere near how tired I was during the Awake-a-thon on TDI, but it was pretty damn close. My eyelids kept falling shut, fluttering open, and the process repeated itself. Finally I let it consume my mind…

I dreamed. In that short amount of slumber, I dreamed of Trent. He was playing me a song on his guitar while we sat beneath a swarm of stars, the moon a mere sliver above us, the night still like a painting on a canvas. I could even hear his soft, entrancing voice… soothing… rhythmic…

In that second a bright flash made me look over my shoulder. A small sphere of blinding light was hovering there off the ground. For a split second, I thought it was a minimized sun come to Earth.

Turning back to Trent, he was nowhere to be seen. He was gone.

"Trent?" I said, looking around for him.

The moment I glanced back at the brightness again, I saw a figure standing in the way of the light. The background was so bright that I couldn't see them clearly. But as they got closer, I made out a head of untidy bronze hair, a gangly body, and two curious eyes blue as ocean waves.

"Cody?" I croaked deliriously.

He smiled his gapped smile, which was unbelievably _cute_ for a guy with a missing tooth, and reached out a hand to me. "Gwen?" he said in a strange alluring voice.

Yeah, like I was gonna touch _his_ grimy hand…

"Gwen?" he repeated.

That's when something prodded me sharply on the forehead.

"Huh? What?" I sat up straight in my chair. The whole class was staring at me.

Again.

Mrs. Kinder didn't appear cheerful, "Madam, I'm afraid it's quite rude to sleep in the middle of class, hmm?"

"S-sorry," I mumbled half-heartedly.

Once I shook that off, I looked at Cody, who was studying me carefully.

"Dude, you _must_ be tired," he hissed. "She tried making Sharon blow her trumpet to wake you up, but even that didn't work! And seriously, Sharon sucks at the trumpet…"

"How long did I sleep?" I muttered.

Missy spoke this time, "About twenty minutes."

"Wow…" I put a hand to my forehead. _Did I honestly just dream of Cody? Am I insane? Am I _going_ insane?_ "What did I miss?"

"A half-page of notes," Cody told me.

"Ugh…"

"Hey, don't sweat it." He gave a nonchalant wave of his hand. "I'll give you my notes as soon as I'm done with them, okay?"

_Say no! You can always get the notes from Missy._ "Uh, no thanks… I'll get them from Missy." _Yes! Nice work, girl!_

Cody looked confused at first, but he shrugged, "All right, that works too."

Missy slid her notebook to me, and as I was starting to copy her notes, I unconsciously glanced at Cody.

He was sitting now with his hands in his pockets, a cool yet melancholy expression on his face. I wasn't sure, but he almost looked offended. Even after he noticed me staring, I didn't look away.

He smiled slightly, "Hi."

"Oh, fu-- hi…? Why are we saying hi?"

"I don't know," he said.

I found myself smiling. But before I could say anything else, the bell rang. _Thank you, God!_

I stood up so fast I nearly tripped. Grabbing my notebook and pencil bag, I hurried out the door before anyone (CODY, cough, cough!) could talk to me.

--

"Could this line be any slower?" Missy was complaining beside me while we waited in the lunch line. Our math class happened to be extremely noisy, so we were kept a few minutes late, allowing the rest of the senior classes to get ahead of us. Missy and I stood near the back of the line, hungry and irritable.

So far I have one class with Pretty Boy, a.k.a. Justin (HA! Surprised you, didn't I?), and all my morning classes with Missy, which isn't bad or anything. She's nice, and I found out she isn't a cheerleader.

She's on the dance team.

"So, Gwen," Missy said.

I glanced at her, "What?"

"Do you think anyone is cute yet?"

I bit my lip nervously. I wasn't about to tell her about that dream I had in history. It was A) creepy, B) creepier, and C) THE creepiest dream I'd had in a long time.

It can't quite top the one I once had about Seth Green and the magic rutabaga…

"No one, I guess," I lied. No, wait, I didn't lie… because it's true! I didn't think anyone was cute! …Right?

"Oh, come on, yeah you do! Everyone does!" she urged. "Please tell me? I won't tell a soul, I promise!"

"There's nothing to tell. I don't think anyone here is cute, and that's that."

"Well, fine, I'll tell you who _I_ think is cute. There's a couple of guys, actually,"

I rolled my eyes. I'd listen, but I wouldn't like it. Then again, I did owe her for becoming my first friend here. "Fire away," I said.

"Okay: first, there's this guy named Justin…"

Surprise, surprise…

"…I think he was on Drama Island with you, am I right?"

I could only nod.

"Yeah, okay. He's EXTREMELY hot! I mean, like, drop-dead gorgeous…"

More like 'drop-dead gag-me' shallow.

"…and then there's Wes Altaire, the blond guy in our Trig class who's a really good singer. Did you know he has a twin brother?"

"Get outta here," I droned.

"No, seriously! His twin's name is Wilson! But they don't look that much alike though. Willy has brown hair and Wes is blond, but they have the same face, you know what I mean?"

Again, I nodded.

"Well, anyway… And of course, there's Cody…" She took a moment to sigh. "He's adorable! I mean, his face is, like, perfect! And he's all thin and stuff and… OMG, his eyes are to _die_ for!"

I'd noticed that…

"And he-- dude, you're blushing!"

I practically jumped back in alarm for two reasons: one was the way she screamed that when she was right next to my ear and two was because I hadn't anticipated my reaction. Come to think of it, I could feel my cheeks burning.

"You like him, don't you!?" she cried.

I quickly glanced around to make sure no one heard her (I highly doubt that anyone within a ten-foot radius _hadn't_ heard her) before I replied, "No way, Miss. I told you, I don't like anyone here."

"You have to! There's always someone! Everyone has someone."

I was about to deny this when I saw Cody walking past me with his lunch tray. He smiled that gapped smile at me and said, "Hey, Gwen." I waved back to him as he went on his way to some table at the back of the room swarming with other guys.

And a few girls.

I was surprised at how much that bothered me. _What the hell is going on? What's wrong with me?_ And in the second I expected an answer from my subconscious, I realized I didn't have even the slightest idea.

--

_Dun dun dunnnn!!_


	4. Science Royally Sucks

_Chapter 4 is UP!! Please enjoy, read, and review :D!! - Mandy_

_**Gwen's POV**_

Science class was after lunch… Perfect for someone with a weak stomach if we were dissecting or learning about something gross. And hey, guess who isn't in this class with me? That's right… Missy.

But guess which two people are… yeah, Ms. Note-Writing Bitch, whose name happened to be Alyshia… and—here's a shocker—Cody.

So, here begins science. Our teacher, Mr. Harrington, announced, "Class, for our project this week, you'll be in pairs of two to make a poster board of your choice."

I searched the room for a reasonable partner. There was Willy Altaire some chairs down from me. He might…

"…I'll be choosing your partner…" said Mr. H.

I had to restrain myself from groaning in exasperation. That's just what I needed… Teacher's Choice.

"Let's see…" The teacher put a finger to his whiskery chin in thought. "Wilson and Andrew, get together and decide on your subject."

Willy slapped a high five with Andy and the two of them teetered over to a lab table.

"…Carl and Tanya, do the same."

A baby-faced boy with messy chestnut hair and matching eyes swung a mesmerized look at the pretty girl beside him, who looked like she was about to be sick. He apparently liked her, and she didn't like him. _I feel your pain, chick… I've been there…_

It was then that the horrible possibility came to me. What if--

"Um… let's go with… Gwen and…"

_Don't say Cody… don't say Cody… don't say Cody…!_

"…Cody."

_Okay… what—the—fuck!?_ I'm not sure why my internal-begging-thing wasn't working lately, but I told myself I've gotta stop doing it.

Cody gave me a triumphant smirk, and all I could do was bury my face in my hands. Hearing him approach my desk, I peeked out from between my fingers.

BIG mistake! He was so tall that my line of sight from my angle was the crotch of his jeans. I found myself blushing against my will, unseen due to the shield of my hands.

"What do you wanna do for our project, partner?"

"Don't call me that!" I snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, what's your deal?" he said, defensively raising his hands.

"I just don't want you reading into this, got it?"

"What would I read into? We're just science partners."

I cringed at his words. For some reason they not only made me feel angry, but also nervous…

I reluctantly followed him to a lab table, where he sat on one of the stools and patted the stool beside him for me.

My eye twitched, and before I could react, I flipped my hair over my shoulder and took a seat across from him. Although… I wasn't sure if it would be any better…

Cody gave me a puzzled look, "Okay… I guess you can do that, too. So… what are we gonna make a project on?"

"I don't know, what do you wanna do?" I asked.

"I don't know, what do you wanna do?"

"Oh, don't start that crap," I accidentally laughed.

He chuckled, "Oops. Hehehe… I get it!"

"Mmm… let me think…" I put a finger to my chin. "…model volcano?"

"Nah… too common… I'll bet you anything that's the first suggestion every other group's made. We need something more original. We could try… reproduction…" He smirked at me devilishly.

I glared at him, disgusted, "You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"Dude, that's monumentally gross," I said irritably.

"Hey, it was just an idea." He was quiet for a few seconds, his teal eyes flicking around the room before they met my gaze. "How about static electricity?"

"Hmm… how would we do that?"

"We'd definitely do a demonstration," he said with his trademark grin. He rubbed his palms together like he was planning something extremely evil. "Whaddya say? Static?"

"Um…"

"There's always water conservation, if you think differently."

I raised an eyebrow when he said this, knowing he was attempting to persuade me by convincing me that anything else we did would be boring. But I had to admit, static electricity sounded a lot more exciting than water conservation…

"Yuck. I think I'll stick with static," I told him.

"Nice!" He stuck his hand out for me to high-five him.

I glanced first at his hand, then at him, then at his hand, then at him once more.

He pulled his arm back and shrugged, trying to look cool. And succeeding… "All right, I get it. You're too good for high-fives. You want a knuckle-bang instead?" He held out his fist.

This time, I knocked his knuckles.

He grinned at me, "There, now, was that so hard?"

_No..._

"Yes," I replied, irritated.

Mr. Harrington went to each group to ask what they would do for their project. When he came to our table, Cody flicked aside his wispy brown hair from his forehead (apparently it was temporary because they kept falling back into place) and answered, "We're doing static electricity."

"Ooh, interesting subject. I expect a good grade from you two with both of your smarts put together."

Cody glanced at me, "I'm sure we'll think of something."

Once Mr. Harrington left, I laid my head on the table. "So what _are_ we going to do, Cody?"

"I'm thinking… a balloon in the hair thing?"

"You've got to be joking," I said disbelievingly. "Well, I guess we can do that, but we'll have to use more than one demo if that's what we're doing."

"Good point," he said. "There's always that thing I did on Total Drama Island with the dodge ball. Remember that?"

"Oh yeah!" I said, vividly recalling the time he'd rubbed the ball to his shirt to create static and threw it at Katie, and it had followed her until it hit her.

"Should we do that?"

"What if it doesn't work twice?"

"Um…"

"Look, we don't have to decide right this second." I studied a strange spot on the floor and then returned my gaze to him. "You can come over to my house this week and we can figure out a plan there, okay?"

I really didn't like the look he gave me next; one of his mahogany eyebrows lifted as the other lowered, and he smirked crookedly. "That sounds great. Excuse me for a second," He stood, poked the top of my hand with one slender finger and, still grinning, started sauntering—no, _swaggering_—back to his desk.

I found my eyes studying him while he walked. His hair was as wispy in the back as it was in the front; his body shape was nice, broad at his chest and shoulders, but curving more inward at his hips; against all my personal boundaries, I stared at his backside for longer than the rest of him. His jeans fit very well, I'll say that much, especially in the rear area, and the denim hugged his legs, showing off how slim they were. If I didn't know any better, I'd call it "checking him out". But at the time I was way too naïve to consider the possibility. Once my mind caught up with my racing heartbeat, I shook my head to avoid those dangerous thoughts.

_NO! There is NO FREAKING WAY that it will EVER happen! Not him! Gross! I didn't, I don't, and I NEVER WILL like Cody._


	5. Dear Diary

_It's been a while, but here's the next chapter, NUMBER 5! WHOOT! Personally, I don't like this chapter that much, but I hope it suffices until I get another idea :S This chapter contains a few tributes, one to Hollywood Undead and another to Total Drama Wireless. I do not own either of them. Please read, enjoy, and review! Much love, Mandy!_

_**Gwen's POV**_

Well, I suppose school isn't that bad.

Wait, what am I saying? It sucks! I've made one friend, an enemy, and God knows what else. No, I do NOT count Cody as a friend because I despise him. I do, really! Everything I've been doing and talking about isn't-- oh, nevermind… Just let this be known: I don't like Cody!

Anyway, school gets out around four o' clock. I went to my locker to gather my homework when I heard someone stop beside me. Glancing up, I breathed a sigh of relief, "Hey, Missy,"

"Gwen, oh my gosh! Guess what!"

"I can't imagine… what?"

"I was partnered with Wes in science class! We're gonna do a project on animal mating behavior."

I made a grossed-out face, "Animal _mating_?" I repeated, as though I'd misheard her.

"Uh huh! It was my idea, but he said he liked it."

"That's, uh… awesome…" I honestly didn't know what to say. She was obviously on Cloud Nine, how could I make her any happier?

"So who are you partnered with?" she asked.

My stomach began to churn. Missy knowing about my science partner would not only be bad… it would be a solid _disaster_.

She poked my shoulder, "Well? Who is it?"

"Uh, someone… stupid…" I said without thinking.

"Is it Willy?"

"No,"

"Justin?"

"He's not in my science class,"

"Hmm…" Missy put a pink painted fingernail to her cheek in thought. Suddenly her emerald eyes got wider than her hoop earrings, which were pretty damn huge, I might add. "Ohhhhhh, I know who it is!"

"Wh-who…?" I asked nervously.

"You're with Cody, aren't you?"

_How did she guess so fast?!_

"No!" I cried, not knowing what else to say.

"Yeah, he's your partner, Gwen, admit it! Come on, I'd figure it out eventually!"

Crap… she was right…

"All right, all right…" I hissed, rubbing my temples. "Yes, he's my partner. But it means nothing, Missy, you hear me? Nothing!"

"Ooooooooh, Gwen, you've got a thing for him, don't you?"

I growled, "Did I _not_ just say that it means _nothing_? Does the word 'nothing' even register in your vocabulary?"

"Sheesh, you don't have to yell at me!" she said, apparently offended. "I'm just joking with you. Besides, I know you don't have a thing for Cody…"

I smiled, triumphant, that she understood. But as she was walking off, I heard her mutter, "She _totally_ likes him…"

--

My diary was my only best friend. Yeah, Missy's nice, but I wouldn't quite call her a 'best friend' yet. She has yet to reach that standard…

Flying onto my bed, I flipped open to the last place I left off in my journal, a page near the middle of the book, and clicked my pen. My mind raced for a few seconds before I began to write,

**Dear Diary—mood: apathetic. My life is spiraling downward.**** I couldn't get enough money to go to the Blood Red Romance and Suffocate Me Dry concert. It sucks 'cause they play some of my favorite songs like 'Stab My Heart Because I Love You' and 'Rip Apart My Soul' and of course, 'Stabby Rip Stab Stab'. And it doesn't help that I couldn't get my hair to do that flippy-thingy. Like that guy from that band can do. Some days, you know...**

Just kidding, but it's a good song. Anyway, what I REALLY wrote:

_**I can't believe how much school has sucked lately! First I get a death note from the most preppy ho in the grade, then I end up being partners with that geeky me-obsessed kid from TDI, Cody! How could it get any worse? Well, I shouldn't say that, since it always jinxes people in the movies. Anyway… Cody's really changed, though, actually. He's taller now, and his face isn't so round anymore, it's slimmer, and his eyes are more green than I remember. He's got a few freckles on his nose, he doesn't look so scrawny, he's got a nice shape to his upper body, and his lower half isn't too bad either, and--**_

I stopped abruptly and the pen flew from my hand, as if some strange ripping cramp had caused my fingers to spasm. Looking back on what I'd written, my breathing nearly stopped. I was making Cody sound like he was _hot._ HA—in my DREAMS! Wait… he WAS in my dreams!

"Aaaaaaugh!" I chucked the book against the wall with a descent '_bang'_. My palms collided with my face. _I must be going crazy! What the hell is wrong with me?!_

To get my mind off this Cody business, I made a struggle to grab my cell phone. Luckily I had the person I was searching for on speed-dial. With the phone to my ear, I waited eagerly for the answer.

Ring… ring… ring… ding (lol)…

"**Hi, you've reached Trent's mobile. Trent doesn't have AT&T so he gets no bars here in… wherever he is… so thanks for your call about whatever you were gonna say, 'cause he's not getting it. Haha, joking! Leave a message and I'll call you. Peace out.**"

_Damn it…_

"Hey, Trent," I said. "It's me, Gwen. Just sitting here all bored and stuff, so… when you get this, call me, okay? I need to talk to you again, dude. Bye."

With a growl and a roll of my eyes, I flung my phone to the floor in despair.

_Now what…?_

If I couldn't talk to Trent, my mind wouldn't stay off my problems (ahem… CODY). I could've called Missy, but… nah… You know, it's bad enough I have to actually _think_ about Cody, but this weekend he has to come to my _house. _Damn you, stupid science teacher and your stupid partner-choosing methods!

Hopelessly bored, I turned on my TV. Sure enough, Total Drama Island was on. And guess what episode it was? Yeah—the one where I had to be with Cody in the canoe.

I was about to change the channel, but something stopped me. I did a compare-and-contrast to the Cody then and the Cody now; HUGE difference, my friend, as I described in my diary. During that awkward time of close inspection, I let my thoughts wander back to when Cody had saved Trent and Lindsay from the quicksand. He'd come swinging gracefully on that vine, missed Trent's hand, slammed hard into the trunk of a nearby tree, slid peacefully to the ground…

…and then Lindsay had hugged him.

My fist clenched as I remembered her arms around his neck. But… why did it bother me so much? With a random epiphany I realized that even that day, I'd been jealous of the hug. But again, _why?_

Perhaps the Cody I knew then was still the Cody I know now? Maybe he just _looks_ and _acts_ different? No, no, he's changed completely. It's the only way I'll ever like him, if I ever do. It's how he is today. He's just cute, and it's definitely going to stay that way. Just cute… nothing special…

That's when he smiled. On the TV, it showed Cody and his dazzling gap-toothed grin.

Quickly I had to rest a hand on my bed frame to catch myself. _Oh, dear God, this is not happening!_ And then the other half of me said, _Oh, yes it is. Let's face fact, Gwen: you're falling for Cody._

Thank you very much, self…

Still I refused to believe it. Yet… could it be true? Was it really possible? I mean, come on! It sounds way too 'romance-novel' to be real. It's the kind of thing you read about all the time—girl likes guy, girl starts falling for the last guy she'd expect, that guy likes her, the two end up together, the first guy gets angry, the second guy wins, and the two go home happy and get drunk? Or wait… did it go like that…?

Whatever! You get my point! It's too cliché, especially for me. But once more, I ask… _is it really possible?_

I was strongly determined to find out.


End file.
